This application is based on the UK application GB 9721782.2 filed Oct. 14, 1997, which is herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to test apparatus for testing fixed detectors such as fire detectors in the form of heat and/or combined smoke detectors.
Fire detectors are normally mounted on the ceilings of rooms and internal spaces and detect the onset of a fire by either sensing an increase in temperature or the presence of the products of combustion, such as smoke. It is important that these detectors are routinely checked to ensure that they are operating properly due to the fact that they can remain in position for long periods of time without ever having been activated by a fire.
It is known, that a testing or test apparatus can be mounted at the end of a long pole to allow a person standing on the ground to place the test apparatus over a detector and then either apply a stimulus to the detector in order to trigger the detector and thereby test its operation. There are a number of problems associated with the presently available test apparatus. For example, one such apparatus is electrically powered by means of a battery pack attached to the user""s belt which is connected to the test head by means of a cable which extends up the length of the pole to the test head and which is arranged to surround the detector being tested. Use of long cables is not advisable with high-power battery powered devices due to the fact that the cables themselves dissipate a considerable portion of the available battery power. Additionally, the cable connections at the end of the pole to the test head prevent the test head from freely moving on the end of the pole in order to adopt a suitable orientation with respect to the device being tested. These limitations are considerable when one understands that often the test head is on the end of a 9 meter pole. In addition, wear and tear on the cables, cable terminations, and cable connectors can lead to early failure of the electrical system, especially in the case where the cable and connections are continually flexed.
In another type of test apparatus, the test apparatus is manually activated by means of pressing the test head against a ceiling to activate a release mechanism for an aerosol can that emits aerosol to test the device in question. This type of apparatus also has its disadvantages. During a testing procedure, it is difficult to ensure adequate operation of the aerosol when trying to maneuver a 9 meter pole. Also when many detectors are mounted on suspended ceilings, which cannot resist the amount of pressure required in order to cause the mechanical activation of the aerosol can testing can, be tedious.
An object of the present invention is to provide a test apparatus comprising a test head located on the end of a pole which overcome the problems associated with the presently available apparatus.
From one aspect, the present invention provides test apparatus comprising a test head adapted for mounting on the end of a pole. The test head comprises a housing member having an open portion adapted to be placed over a detector device being tested and means located within the open portion of the housing member for detecting the presence of the detector device. Preferably the presence detector is in the form of a non-contact arrangement such as is provided by a photo-emitting device and a photo-receiver.
In one mode of operation, light from a photo emitting device is received by the receiver until the detector device is interposed between the photo-electric elements, whereupon a test of the detector device is initiated. The test can be initiated by emission of an aerosol or the activation of a heating element or some other arrangement depending on the type of detector device being tested.
From another aspect, the present invention provides battery powered apparatus mounted on the end of a hollow elongated member and a battery retainer mounted to the housing member, thereby obviating the need for electrical cable from a power source, which may have been situated with the user, to the housing member.
Preferably the battery is readily removable to permit recharging or replacement of the batteries. Advantageously, the battery retainer is in the form of a housing which extends over a length of the elongate member in excess of the dimension of one battery so that the weight of the battery is evenly distributed along the length of the elongate member. The elongate member is arranged to be held by a user at a position remote from the battery compartment.
Preferably the apparatus is adapted for testing the operation of a detector device. In this case, the apparatus includes a housing member having an open portion arranged to be placed over a detector device under test.
From a further aspect, the present invention provides apparatus for testing the operation of a detector device comprising a housing member adapted to be placed over a detector device under test, the housing member being pivotally mounted on the end of an elongate member and is provided with an electrically operated arrangement. The pivotal mounting being arranged to include sturdy electrically conductive members and the elongate member, thereby obviating the need for electrical cable between the housing member and the elongate member.
It will be appreciated that the electrical and mechanical mounting construction could be used with the first and the second aspects of the present invention described above or can be used separately to simply replace the conventional wiring arrangement of the presently available test apparatus.